The balance between mitochondrial fusion and fission influences the reticular shape of mitochondria in yeasts. Little is known about whether mitochondria fusion occurs in plants. Plant mitochondria are usually more numerous and more grainshaped than animal mitochondria. BLAST

The extracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerase gene from Akaligenes faecalis Tl was cloned into Escherichia coli DH1 by using the plasmid pUC8. An A. faecalis Ti genomic library was prepared in E. coli from a partial Sau3AI digest and screened with antibody against the depolymerase. Of the 29 antibody-positive clones, 1 (pDP14), containing about 4 kilobase pairs of A. (22), modified by the addition of achromopeptidase (TBL-1; 1.5 mg/ml) (12) to the lysozyme-EDTA solution to lyse the organism. Plasmid DNA was isolated from a chloramphenicol-amplified culture (18) of E. coli by the method of Bimboim and Doly (1) and then purified by gel filtration. A. faecalis Ti DNA was partially digested with Sau3AI, and fragments of 4 to 9 kilobase pairs (kbp) in size were isolated from the agarose gel by the glass powder method (28). The size-fractionated DNAs were ligated into BamHI-digested and alkaline phosphatase-treated pUC8, using T4 ligase. E. coli DH1 was transformed with recombinant plasmid DNA by the calcium chloride method of Mandel and Higa (17), and ampicillinresistant (Apr) transformants were selected and immunologically screened (9) with anti-PHB depolymerase immunoglobulin G raised in a rabbit.Restriction mapping and subcloning. Mapping of restriction sites was performed by the standard procedure (18). Deletion derivatives were constructed by digesting plasmids with a single restriction enzyme, followed by ligation of the products. Subcloning was performed by isolating DNA fragments from 0.8% agarose gels by electroelution onto DEAE-paper (6). These fragments were then ligated into pUC8 that had been cut with appropriate restriction enzymes. pUC8 with subcloned DNA fragments was introduced into the E. coli JM103 recipient by transformation, and white colonies containing recombinant plasmids were 184 JOURNAL

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By a combination of PCR with degenerate primers and low stringency probing, we have isolated a large family of genes related to the Ca 2؉ -sensing receptor from the genome of Fugu rubripes. One of the genes (type I) is the Fugu homologue of the Ca 2؉ -sensing receptor. The remaining genes can be divided into five classes (type II-VI) on the bases of gene structure. In several types, the genes occur in clusters as tandem arrays. These genes appear to be the homologues of the vomeronasal pheromone receptors recently described in rodents. The Fugu genes are expressed in the tissues of the nose, suggesting that they may have a similar physiological role.Volatile odorants are detected by a large family of G proteincoupled receptors differentially expressed in cells of the olfactory sensory epithelium (1). The detection of pheromones is mediated through neurons of the vomeronasal organ (VNO), and a distinct class of receptors, different from the odorant receptors, was isolated by Dulac and Axel (1995) from a subset of VNO neurons (2). Very recently, three groups (3-5) have characterized a third class of G protein-coupled receptors from a different group of VNO neurons, unrelated to both classes previously found. These G protein-coupled receptors have large extracellular domains and resemble the metabotropic glutamate receptors and the Ca 2ϩ -sensing receptor. In the course of characterizing G protein-coupled receptors in the genome of the puffer fish Fugu rubripes, we encountered members of a large family of receptors related to the Ca 2ϩ -sensing receptor, which closely resemble the mammalian pheromone receptors. In this paper, we report on the characterization of these genes and show that they comprise six types, distinguished by sequence homology and gene structure. The genes occur in clusters, and we also show that they are expressed in the nose of the fish, making it likely that they are olfactory detectors.

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Severe heritable protein C (PC) deficiency is quite rare, although heterozygous PROC mutation is the second leading cause of genetic predisposition to thrombosis in Japanese adults. The aim of the study was to search the optimal management, the paediatric onset and outcomes of PC deficiency were characterized in Japan. The genetic study, postmarketing survey of activated PC(aPC) concentrate (Anact(®)C) and intensive review in Japan for 20 years enabled the analysis of the disease onset, genotype, treatment and prognosis. Symptomatic PC deficiency was determined in 27 Japanese children. All but two patients presented within 16 days after birth (three prenatal and six neonatal onsets). Postnatal-onset cases had normal growth at full-term delivery. Of the 27 patients, 19 suffered intracranial thrombosis or haemorrhage (ICTH) (three foetal hydrocephalies), 16 developed purpura fulminans (PF) and 10 had both at the first presentation. ICTH preceded PF in both affected cases. Low PC activities of 18 mothers and/or 12 fathers indicated 20 inherited PC deficiencies (2 homozygotes, 11 compound heterozygotes and 7 heterozygotes) and seven unidentified causes of PC deficiency. Nine of 11 patients studied had PROC mutations. Four unrelated patients (50%) carried PC nagoya (1362delG). No PC-deficient parents had experienced thromboembolism. Of the 18 patients with aPC therapy, two died and eight evaluable survivors had neurological sequelae. This first comprehensive study of paediatric PC deficiency suggested that perinatal ICTH was the major presentation, occurring earlier than neonatal PF. PC nagoya was prevalent in paediatric, but not adult, patients in Japan. Early maternal screening and optimal PC therapy are required for newborns at risk of PC deficiency.